Accessing Virtual ChemLab.pdf

8/10/2019 Accessing Virtual ChemLab.pdf

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Accessing Virtual ChemLab

Overview

Welcome to Virtual ChemLab, acollection of realistic simulations

covering the topics of general andorganic chemistry. In these

laboratories, students are put into avirtual environment where they are

free to make the choices and decisionsthat they would confront in an actual

laboratory setting and, in turn,experience the resulting

consequences. Access to thelaboratory is granted either through

the electronic workbook (see Figure1) or through the card reader (see

Figure 2). How you access thelaboratory will depend on the type of

installation you have been given. Thevarious topics given below describe

the different access options for Virtual ChemLab, how to operate the card reader, and commonproblems encountered when first trying to gain access to the laboratories.

Virtual ChemLabAccess Options

Virtual ChemLaballows instructors to

give electronic assignments andunknowns to the students and for the

students to submit their results andlaboratory lab books back to the

instructors for grading. Not allinstructors will use the electronic

assignment capabilities and may,instead, choose to give assignments on

paper. Regardless of how assignments

are given, access to the laboratoriesand the handling of electronicassignments are treated differently

depending on the type of installation.

The Virtual ChemLabsimulations areavailable as a network installation (a

typical computer lab installation) or as

Figure 1. Initially, access to the laboratory is granted

through the electronic workbook for studentinstallations.

Figure 2. The card reader is used to access the laboratorywhen using electronic assignments.


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a student installation (the student buys the software). In a network installation, electronicassignments from the instructor and lab book submissions by the students are handled directly

through a local area network or through the web using the Web Connectivity Option. In a studentinstallation, it is assumed that students will be performing assignments on paper using

worksheets from one of the Virtual ChemLab Workbooks. However, the Web Connectivity

Option can be activated in a student version that enables the exchange of electronic assignmentsand lab book results using a regular internet connection. Some computer lab installations mayfind this to be the favored mode of operation as well. More details on the different types of users

allowed in Virtual ChemLabare given in the sections that follow.

Student User

When a student version of Virtual ChemLabis first installed, the software is configured forstudent users without access to electronic assignments. (A computer lab may also have the

software configured as a student user.) Consequently, the identity of the user is not necessary andpassword access to the laboratories through the card reader is not required. Starting the software

as a student user will bring the student to the hallway with the electronic workbook sitting on thetable. Access to the laboratory is granted by either clicking on a laboratory assignment in the

electronic workbook or by clicking on a laboratory door. Having access to the Card Reader Helpmenu indicates that your version of Virtual ChemLabis not configured as a student user.

Web User

A web user is one who will be accessing electronic assignments using the Web Connectivity

Option. The Web Connectivity Option is turned on by opening the electronic lab book located inthe laboratory, clicking on the Web Optionsbutton, and then clicking on theEnable Web

Connectionbutton. Multiple web users may use the same installation but the first web user must

be added at the time the Web Connectivity Option is enabled in the lab book. Subsequent webusers can be added at the card reader or in the Web Options section of the lab book. Web usersare not restricted to use a single computer (for example in a computer lab), but they are

responsible for uploading their results to the server before using a different computer.

The information required to activate a web user on a given computer is a user name, password,and the URL address for the servlet engine that collects and distributes the assignments and

student results. This information will be provided by the instructor. Once a student has beenactivated on a given computer, only the password is required to enter the laboratory. Details on

using the Web Connectivity Option are given in the user guides for the various simulations.

Direct Access User

A direct access user is one who will be accessing electronic assignments directly through a local

area network. A direct access user can only occur in a computer lab environment and cannot beset up using a student version of the software. In order to gain access to the laboratory, the user

must provide a valid password at the card reader. Passwords will be supplied by the instructor.


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Passwords

In order gain access to the laboratories, a valid password must be provided at the card reader.The purpose of the password is to identify the user so the appropriate assignments, laboratory

configurations, and lab books are delivered to the student. This password will be provided by

your instructor. Often, the password is the student ID but it can be any alphanumeric sequencespecified by the ChemLabadministrator. Passwords arecase sensitive, so be careful that CapsLock is offor that Num Lock on if using the keypad. If you are a web user, you must first add

your account to the current computer by clicking on theAdd New Userbutton.

Add New User

Each web user is required to add themselves as a user to the current ChemLabinstallation beforethey are allowed to enter the laboratory. If the software is currently configured for student users

(that is, password access is not required at the card reader), then the Web Connectivity Optionmust be enabled and the first web user added in the Web Optionspage of the lab book. All

subsequent web users can be added using theAdd New Userbutton on the card reader. To addyourself as a user, you will be required to provide a user name, password, and the URL address

of the servlet let engine serving your class. This information will be provided by your instructor.The user name, password, and URL address are case sensitive, so be careful that Caps Lock is

offor that Num Lock is onif using the keypad.

Although the ChemLabadministrator can specify any user name, the most common user nameswill consist of a combination of the last name and first and middle initials. For example, if your

name is Jane C. Doe, then a likely user name will be either DoeJC or DoeJ where the first username would be used if the ChemLab administrator used the middle initial in the class roll and the

second user name would be used if the middle initial was not used. Remember that the user name

(as well as the password) is case sensitive. The user name must be entered with the correctcapitalization.

The URL for the servlet engine serving your class must also be entered correctly before you canbe added as a user. When adding a new user, the most recent successful URL will be used as an

initial address. The format of the URL address will have the formhttp://Servername:8080/Context/servlet/ChemServ where Servernamewill be the name of the

server running the servlet engine and Contextis the name of the specific engine serving yourclass. Remember, the URL address is also case sensitive.

Guest Access

Clicking on the Guestbutton will allow you to enter the laboratories without requiring a

password. As a guest user, you will have complete access to the full simulations but will not beable to receive electronic assignments nor report the results of your experiments.


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Common Problems

Given in the following list are some of the most common problems encountered when trying togain access to the laboratories:

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When entering the password, Caps Lock may be onwhich would cause the wrongcapitalization to be used for the password. Remember that the password is hidden as it istyped, and it will not be obvious what capitalization is being used.

2. When entering the password using the keypad, Num Lock may be offwhich would prevent

the numbers from the keypad from being entered into the password. Remember that thepassword is hidden as it is entered, and it will not be obvious what is actually being typed.

3. When adding a new web user, the most common problem is using either the wrong user

name or using an incorrect capitalization. The most common user names will consist of acombination of the last name and first and middle initials. For example, if your name is Jane

C. Doe, then a likely user name will be either DoeJC or DoeJ where the first user namewould be used if the ChemLab administrator used the middle initial in the class roll and the

second user name would used if the middle initial was not used. Remember that the username is case sensitive. The user name must be entered with the correct capitalization and

without spaces.

Documents

Accessing Virtual ChemLab.pdf